4. No, her Companion does not have to be a straight male or a gay female. Two female leaders can often be trusted to become a successful team who produce meaningful work. Even the ostriches have learned this year: Some of our (formerly) favorite men cannot be trusted. Many of them have secretly been abusing women for decades.

6. Maybe you’ve never watched Doctor Who. Maybe you don’t even like SciFi. Maybe you don’t need a righteous, mindful, fanciful imaginary character to comfort you during the next 3 years (or it could be 7 more years). But – for me – I need Doctor Who to get me through. I will miss Peter Capaldi, and I will miss Pearl Mackie as well.

p.s. As Jodie Whittaker becomes The First Female Doctor, we’re remembering Delia Derbyshire, who composed the theme tune for Doctor Who but was barred from studios due to being a woman. She is now credited as paving the way for women in the music industry.